Brad Chalk

Chalk was the catalyst of Riverside High's 3-A state title team in 2004, his second state title at the suburban Greenville, S.C., school, and he also took a tour with USA Baseball's youth national team as an underclassman. He stepped in as Clemson's starting center fielder as a freshman and has been a sparkplug for the Tigers each of his three seasons there. He knows how to get on base and sticks to his slap-and-dash approach. He draws comparisons to Jason Tyner but actually has less power. Tyner has no professional home runs, while Chalk has never hit a college home run and doesn't attempt to drive the ball often. His plus speed doesn't translate in games as well as it could--he had stolen just eight bases this season and 31 in his career at Clemson--making some clubs wary of how much value to place on it. He has good plate discipline and works counts effectively. He's a plus defender with a solid-average arm. Chalk has been slowed by occasional back trouble, including late this season.